The Intermountain West: An Environmental History of its People, Places, History and Cultures Prepared by Elizabeth Caughlin Boise School District, Idaho With support from The American Society for Environmental History The Charles Redd Center for Western Studies, Brigham Young University, Utah RATIONALE: The Intermountain West: An Environmental History of its People, Places, History and Cultures is a teaching unit plan designed to give secondary students of United States history an understanding of the shaping force the environment has on the American character and, furthermore, to help students in the Intermountain West see themselves as part of a diverse cultural and physical landscape. The unit is derived from constructivist and social learning theories. IMPLEMENTATION: The teaching unit can be extended to a 5 week intensive study, or restricted to a more intense, shorter lived unit of study. The end goal of the project is the creation of an interactive website using a map of the Intermountain West as the home page. Links on the map will be established by students to connect to the results of their research. The links can be identified as cultural, economic, social, historic and political or however the implementer prefers to focus his or her students’ attention. Elements of the teaching unit include several scaffolding activities, but can be used in isolation if preferred. These elements are: mapping and identification of geographic composition of the Intermountain West; study of individuals of note in the Intermountain West; research of routes into, through and within the Intermountain West; literature, arts and music of the Intermountain West; peoples of the Intermountain West; rivers and canals of the Intermountain West and the changing biology of the Intermountain West. Students will initiate their study through an introduction to environmental history, as a study of the ways in which humans have interacted with, shaped, and been shaped by their physical environments in the past. Students will then engage in individualized research of a topic, individual or event related to an environmental aspect of the Intermountain West. The students’ individualized research will need to have, as a central premise, the position that the Intermountain West’s environment, too, has a history which has been shaped by human beings. Students’ research will need to show the connection between the human history of the region and the role the physical world has played in that history Having completed their research, students will create PowerPoint presentations. Students will classify their research as being related to a person, place or event. Students will then identify and locate the major environmental features implicit in their individualized research, and will select the appropriate locations for the hyperlink to their projects. Depending on the time allotted to the study, the teacher can involve the students in web creation or can appoint an editorial board to create the class web page using the map as the organizing feature. Ideally, websites created by groups of students could be hosted by a centralized agency to ease access; however, search engines can also provide the unifying agency, so long as teachers use common language when posting the results. “An Interactive Map of the Intermountain West” is suggested as a sub- title. The Intermountain West: An Environmental History of its People, Places, History and Cultures Unit Objectives Guiding Questions: 1. How do the environmental aspects of the Intermountain West shape our present and past art, literature, history and culture? 2. What made people in the past living in the Intermountain West unique and what makes them unique today? 3. How has the environment changed as a result of people’s activity in the Intermountain West? Objectives: 1. Students will be able to identify the geographic features of the region. 2. Students will be able to identify the cultural groups that have resided and that reside in the region. 3. Students will be able to identify specific routes that connect the region to the surrounding regions. 4. Students will be able to identify corridors within the region. 5. Students will be able to connect themselves metaphorically to a specific physical feature within the region, through poetry or prose. 6. Students will engage in the creation of an interactive webpage. 7. Students will engage in research using regional resources, such as state and local libraries, institutes and museums and national resources, such as the Library of Commerce and National Archives. 8. Students will develop original theses and will engage in historical research to support these theses. 9. Students will create projects revealing the results of their research. 10. Students will document their research using MLA format. Activities: 1. Individualized research and reading 2. Developing thesis statements 3. Writing research proposals 4. Writing poetry and prose 5. Graphing results of research 6. Public speaking 7. Web designing (FrontPage is a possibility) 8. Cooperative learning 9. Journal writing, reflecting and exchanging ideas 10. Creative criticism The Intermountain West: An Environmental History of its People, Places, History and Cultures Boise School District and Idaho Standards Addressed by the Study Instructional Objective Standard Reference Number 1305.01 Acquire critical thinking and analytical skills. Note: This instructional objective, its associated 130501 instructional objectives, and the performance objectives in this section apply throughout the course. Associated Instructional Objectives: Develop and interpret different kinds of maps, globes, 6-12.USH1.2.1.1 graphs, charts, databases and models. Evaluate and interpret points-of-view using primary 130501a and secondary sources. Chronologically organize significant events and people 130501b in United States history into major eras and themes to identify and explain historical relationships. 1305.02 Understand the cultural and ecological 130502 interactions among previously unconnected peoples resulting from early European exploration and colonization. Analyze and describe the interactions between native 6-12.USH1.1.5.3 peoples and the European explorers. 1305.02a Illustrate how an artifact symbolizes and reflects a particular culture and/or time period. 9-12.I.1.1.3 1305.03 Explain colonial immigration, population growth, and the consequences of each. 130503 1305.04 Identify how religious, social, political, and 130504 economic factors shaped settlement patterns in the 17th and 18th centuries in North America. Compare and contrast works or ideas from at least 9-12.I.2.1.2 two cultures, historical periods, or geographical areas. Analyze ways in which the physical environment 6-12.USH1.2.2.2 affected political and economic development. 1305.06a Demonstrate the ways in which the arts and humanities reflect events. 9-12.I.1.1. 1305.06b Interpret how a literary/artistic work relates 9-12.I.3.2.2 to the history and/or culture from which it originated. 1305.06c Analyze an artifact or idea and debate its 9-12.I.2.2.1 meaning in the context of its societal values. 1305.09 Evaluate issues in which fundamental values 6-12.USH1.4.1.3 and principles are in conflict, such as between liberty and equality, individual interests and the common good, and majority rule and minority protections. Identify fundamental values and principles as 6-12.USH1.4.1.2 expressed in basic documents such as the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. Analyze the common traits, beliefs, and 6-12.USH1.1.1.3 characteristics that unite the United States as a nation and a society. Describe ways in which citizens participated in early 6-12.USH1.4.3.2 American public life. 1305.13 Explain the factors that contributed to the 9-12.USH2.1.4.1 rise of industrialization in the 19th century. Describe the emergence and evolution of a market 6-12.USH1.3.2.1 economy. Explain how the development of various modes of 6-12.USH1.1.4.2 transportation increased economic prosperity and promoted national unity. Explain the consequences of scientific and 6-12.USH1.1.4.1 technological inventions and changes on the social and economic lives of the people in the development the United States. Explain ways in which people responded to their physical environment in the early national history of the United States. Trace federal policies and treaties such as removal, 6-12.USH1.1.3.1 reservations, and allotment throughout history that have impacted contemporary American Indians. Name _______________ Date _______________ Period ______ The Intermountain West: An Environmental History of its People, Places, History and Cultures You will be engaging in a research and creative process related to learning about the environmental history of the Intermountain West, its places, people, history and cultures. By the end of your study will have done the following: Identified the geographic elements of the region in which you live Researched an aspect of the region that appeals to your particular interests Develop a thesis explaining the connection between your research topic and the environment, including how your topic changed the environment. Created a PowerPoint presentation of your research Created an MLA annotated bibliography Made a link on a webpage to your project Read a novel, collection of short stories or poetry related to the Intermountain West Written a novel ( ), short story or poem related to the Intermountain West Steps: 1) Select